Cham (born Damian Beckett, 24 February 1979) is a Jamaican-born dancehall singer-songwriter and actor, mostly known for his 2006 single " Ghetto Story" from his major label debut album of the same name, a song which led to multiple "story" songs by other artists in a similar vein. He is currently signed to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

, and was known as Baby Cham until 2005. He is still called Baby Cham by his Jamaican fans and fans from around the world despite the name change.

Biography

Originally from Sherlock Crescent in Saint Andrew Parish, Cham's career began in the early 1990s. The ''

Miami New Times The ''Miami New Times'' is a newspaper published in Miami, Florida, United States, and distributed every Thursday. It primarily serves the Miami-Dade County, Miami area and is headquartered in Miami's Wynwood Art District. Overview It was acquir ...

'' referred to his debut album '' Wow... The Story'', released in 2000, as "the most anticipated album in years from any reggae artist", and a ''Washington Post'' review of a live Cham concert in 2006 described him as "the man who may be the next

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists. Paul's singles " Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...

– a dancehall artist who crosses over to the U.S. hip-hop market." Throughout his career, Cham has collaborated with many hip hop and R&B artists such as Foxy Brown,

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

, Carl Thomas, Shawn Mims, Mis-Teeq,

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to th ...

Che'Nelle Cheryline Ernestine Lim (born 10 March 1982), known by her stage name Che'Nelle, is an Australian singer-songwriter signed to Universal Music Japan. Early life Cheryline Ernestine Lim was born on 10 March 1982, to a Chinese father, and a mothe ...

Jentina Jentina Rose Rees (née Chapman, born 6 March 1984) is an English rapper, singer, songwriter and model of Romani descent. Biography Jentina Chapman was born on 6 March 1984 in Woking, England to a Romani family that consisted of fourteen childr ...

Akon Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P ...

, and T-Pain,

Keke Palmer Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer (born August 26, 1993) ( ) is an American actress, singer and television personality. Known for playing leading and character roles in comedy and drama productions, she has received a Primetime Emmy Award, five NAACP I ...

and many others. Cham has for a long time worked with producer Dave Kelly.Johnson, Richard (2012)
Keeping apace with Cham
, ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an ...

'', 29 June 2012, retrieved 1 July 2012 In 2012, he recorded with his wife, O, on the singles "Wine" and "Tun Up". In 2013 he released the Kelly-produced single "Fighter", featuring

Damian "Junior Gong" Marley Damian Robert Nesta "Jr. Gong" Marley (born 21 July 1978) is a Jamaican DJ, singer, lyricist and rapper. He is the recipient of four Grammy Awards. Early life, education and family Damian Marley is the youngest son of reggae musician Bob Marl ...

.Jackson, Kevin (2013)
Cham's a FIGHTER
, ''

'', 25 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013 Cham's third album, the Kelly-produced ''Lawless'' was due to be released in June 2015.Jackson, Kevin (2015)
Cham's New Album for June
, ''

'', 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015 Featuring the single "I Am Hot", the album was recorded in Florida apart from a collaboration with

Mykal Rose Michael Rose (born 11 July 1957) is a Grammy award-winning reggae singer from Jamaica. He is known for a successful tenure with Black Uhuru from 1977 to 1984, and he has worked regularly with Dennis Brown, Big Youth, The Wailers, Gregory Isaacs, ...

and

Bounty Killer Rodney Basil Price (born 12 June 1972), known as Bounty Killer, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. AllMusic describes him as "one of the most aggressive dancehall stars of the '90s, a street-tough rude boy with an unrepentant flair f ...

, which was recorded in Jamaica.

Discography

Albums

Singles

As featured artist

*"Shottas" T-Pain featuring Cham and

Kardinal Offishall Jason Drew Harrow (born May 11, 1976), better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall (), is a Canadian rapper, record producer, DJ, and record executive. Often credited as Canada's " hip hop ambassador", he is regarded as one of the countr ...

This Is Why I'm Hot "This Is Why I'm Hot" is the debut single by American rapper Mims. The song was co-written by Mims and produced by Blackout Movement for his first album '' Music Is My Savior'' (2007). Released in 2007, the song reached No. 1 on the U.S. ''Bill ...

" (Remix) Mims featuring

Junior Reid Delroy "Junior" Reid (born 6 June 1963) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician, best known for his featuring on the songs " One Blood", " It's Okay (One Blood)" and " This Is Why I'm Hot", as well as being the lead vocalist for Black Uhuru ...

and Cham *"The Day Before"

Baby Blue Soundcrew Baby Blue Soundcrew was a Canadian DJ group from Toronto, Ontario, specializing in hip-hop and R&B music. The group was composed of Kid Kut, KLC, C-Boogie, and Singlefoot. They are notable for releasing two commercially successful compilatio ...

featuring

Jully Black Jully Black (born Jullyann Inderia Gordon Black, November 8, 1977) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, producer and actress. She has collaborated and written for many artists, including Nas, Saukrates, Choclair, Kardinal Offishall, Destiny's Ch ...

& Cham *"Oh No (You Can't Be Serious)" Carl Thomas featuring Cham *"Tables Will Turn" Foxy Brown featuring Cham *"Party Time" (Remix)

Lukie D Lukie D (born Michael Kennedy, 1972, Cockburn Pen, Jamaica) is a dancehall singer and deejay. He is known for his singing and powerful vocal range and soulful voice rather than toasting style, which fits with the prominent theme of love in his s ...

featuring Cham and

Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York. He began his career in the 1990s as a member of the rap trio The Lox, managed by Ruff Ryders and signed with B ...

*"Love Is on My Mind"

Shawnna Rashawnna Guy (born January 3, 1978), better known by her stage name Shawnna, is an American rapper. She was the first female artist signed to Def Jam South through Ludacris' Disturbing tha Peace Records. She is a former member of the female Chi ...

featuring Cham and Sisqo *"Run Dem" Foxy Brown featuring Cham *"Never Never" (Remix)

Brick & Lace Brick & Lace are a Jamaican-American dancehall/R&B (or reggae fusion) musical duo consisting of sisters Nyanda and Nailah Thorbourne. According to ''Billboard'', their name reflects the tough and the soft sides of femininity. Brick & Lace o ...

featuring Cham *" I Fell in Love with the DJ"

featuring Cham *"Tonight"

featuring Cham *"Girl I Need"

Mario is a character (arts), character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in ...

featuring Cham *"Bullet"

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper. Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station 99 Jamz, a ...

featuring Cham and Rick Ross *"That's Just Not Me" Mis-Teeq featuring Baby Cham *"

Bad Ass Strippa "Bad Ass Strippa" is the debut single by English rapper and singer Jentina from her eponymous debut album, ''Jentina'' (2005). It was released in Ireland, Italy, and the United Kingdom. It achieved average success in Italy and the UK, despite ...

" (Remix)

featuring Cham

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cham Atlantic Records artists Jamaican dancehall musicians Reggae fusion artists 1979 births Living people People from Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica